Alberta 55 Plus Bocce Rules

Alberta 55 plus Bocce Rules General Information The rules listed in this section shall be the official rules for any Alberta 55 plus event. All Alberta 55 plus Rules are located on our web site at: www.alberta55plus.ca. If there is a discrepancy between any printed rules, the version available on our web site shall prevail. Entry Procedures: Check with your Zone Activity Director for playoff information and date. Contact information is listed on our website at www.alberta55plus.ca Game Courtesies Rules are made to be followed by all players to make games happen. But often there are unwritten “rules” or courtesies which will make the game much better with fewer problems for all. Whether the game is a friendly recreational event among friends or part of an important tournament, participants should practice good sportsmanship and respect for their competitors. Lines ‘thou shalt not step over’ exist to place all players on an even footing. We should have enough line judges to watch each play. Rules of the games indicate who is to lead, mark the score and where players should move to their next turn. Do not make comments or loud noises during play. Shake hands before the game commences, and at the end of the game. Leave judging and score marking to the proper persons. Rules for many of the activities that 55 plus play are contained in rules books written by provincial, national or international governing bodies. These rules are often referred to but any adaptations to these rules will be listed within each rule. Dress Code Avoid the use of strong perfumes, colognes or shaving lotion to prevent an opponent sneezing, being choked up or coughing at the wrong time. To keep Alberta 55 plus activities consistent, where there is no Dress Code Rule it is expected of each participant to reflect the professionalism of themselves and their sport. Age Groups / Events All participants must fall within the age group indicated by December 31 of the Event year. All participants in Zone Playoffs must be Active Members. Participants Advancing Age Events to Provincial Games 55+ Open 4 (1 team) 70+ Open 4 (1 team) TOTAL NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS PER ZONE = 8 Bocce is a ball sport using spherical bowls played with 4 members on a team. Each team throws four (4) balls per side, trying to land their team’s colour closest to the pallino (small white ball) in order to score points. It is usually played outdoors on a grass court. The game is similar to lawn bowling and carpet bowling. The object of the game is to get as many bocce as possible closest to the pallino. Alberta 55 plus Official Rules May 2021 Page 1 of 4 Alberta 55 plus Bocce Rules 1. Definitions Punto – point – at punto is the attempt to get a point. Raffa – the roll (a form of delivery) Volo – loft or fling Pallino – small ball Boccia – large (game) ball – the plural of boccia is bocce 2. The Bocce Court The sport of Bocce will be played on a number of grass courts. The ground shall be level and firm and the grass cut short, minimum ¾” and maximum 1 ½” high. For best results use lime or paint to mark the courts. Each court is 80’ and the width is 13’ (measured to the inside edges of the lines). The court is divided into two 40’ halves by a centre line (called line D). Each half of the court includes a 10’ throwing zone beginning at the end of the court (line A) and bounded by Line B. All delivery of the bocce and pallino takes place between the end of the court and line B. 13FT. A -- 10ft--B--------------------30ft------------------------D--------------------30ft------------------------B---10ft----A 3. Equipment a) The legal sized bocce ball shall be #109 (109 mm diameter and 1.00 kg plus or minus 20 g). b) Lawn Bowling tapes should be used when measuring c) Referee’s paddle one (1) foot long, with red and green on opposite sides (similar in shape to a table tennis paddle). 4. Regulations a) Players are not allowed beyond line B until all bocce have been played. The referee is the only one allowed at the pallino end. b) The small ball (pallino) must cross the centre line (line D). c) A coin is flipped by team leads to determine who throws first. The team winning the toss has the option of throwing first or last. The team that throws first has the choice of bocce color. d) In subsequent ends, the team scoring the previous end shall throw first. e) The team throwing the pallino has ONE attempt to place the pallino in the play area beyond the centre line (line D). If this is not accomplished, the opposing team throws the pallino and the team that threw the pallino first, throws the first ball. If the player from the second team also fails to place the pallino in the play area, the referee then centers the pallino at a point halfway between lines B and D at the opposite end. The team that first threw the pallino then throws the first ball. f) At the start of an end, if the pallino lands closer than one (1) foot to the side line (referee can measure with paddle), the pallino is then centered (no closer or further from delivery point) by the referee. If the pallino lands closer than one (1) foot to the end line, the pallino is placed in the center of the court by the referee. 5. The Game and the Teams a) The object of the game is to get one’s own boccia as close as possible to the pallino. b) The boccia may be either rolled (raffa) or lofted (volo) down the court. The boccia is rolled or lofted underhand only. Alberta 55 plus Official Rules May 2021 Page 2 of 4 Alberta 55 plus Bocce Rules c) Nearest ball – If team A won the toss and chose to go first, team A rolls or lofts the pallino and then rolls or lofts one bocce. The first player on the opposing team (team B) then takes their turn. They must get their color of bocce closer to the pallino than team A’s color of bocce. The referee makes the decision who is closest and shows the opposite color with his paddle (if red is closest, he shows green, so green throws next). If the team B member fails to get closer with his/her two bocce, then the next member of team B tries. If team B is unable to get closer to the pallino than team A, the remaining bocce of team A shall then be thrown. d) If a player from team B succeeds in getting his bocce closer to the pallino than team A’s bocce, team A begins to play again. The play shifts from one team to the other depending upon whose bocce is the closest to the pallino. e) Note: if the first player on team A rolls or lofts his first bocce out of bounds, then he loses his turn to the first player on team B. f) Note: After the delivery of each boccia, the referee must always show the opposite color of the boccia that is laying shot, even if all bocce of one color have been delivered. If green is shot, and all the red bocce have been thrown, the referee must show red, indicating that the green is shot. This ensures the behavior of the referee in showing a color is consistent throughout the game. g) Each team will consist of four players. The leads and seconds from both teams will each throw two balls from the same end of the court to constitute one end played. Next end, the thirds and skips will each throw two balls from the opposite end of the court, constituting another end played. Play will continue to rotate in this manner until the game is completed h) Players may not change positions during a game. Any change or substitution must occur between games. i) Each player is allowed up to one minute to deliver (1) boccia. Penalty for exceeding the time limit is loss of one ball. j) Each team is allowed one 2-minute time out per game. This can be done only when a player from the team requesting the time out is about to play. During the time-out, players may go beyond line B to meet one another. 6. Scoring a) The game shall consist of up to ten (10) ends. Total score declares winner. A team achieving fifteen (15) points prior to the completion of ten (10) ends shall be declared the winner. b) Points are computed by assigning one (1) point to each boccia closest to the pallino with respect to the opponent’s bocce. c) After an end has been played, the determination of the score will be done by either the seconds or the thirds when the play is in their respective end of the court. No balls are allowed to be touched until opposing seconds or thirds in their respective ends agree to the score. If they cannot agree, then the referee will be called to measure and make that decision. d) At the completion of each end thirds are responsible for recording the count for their team and reviewing that their opponent’s scores are accurate. After completion of a game both thirds sign the score sheet verifying that the scores are accurate. 7.

Load more